This invention relates to a drying apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for drying articles such as footwear in a drying device.
Various types of drying devices are known in the art. Domestic automatic clothes dryers, for example, are drying devices routinely used in households for drying wet or washed laundry, etc. Such automatic clothes dryers typically include a rotating drum operatively connected to a source of heat. During a typical drying process, heat is introduced into the drum while the drum rotates, and the heat is delivered to the contents of the drum, which usually occurs by an air stream generated by an air moving device such as a fan or a blower. Thus, items placed in the drum, such as common household laundry, are dried by the heat and the air stream.
Often times, it is desirable to dry household items other than laundry in a drying device. Footwear, such as shoes for example, may sometimes be washed in a washing machine or by hand, and it may be desirable to dry the washed footwear faster than just letting it sit and air-dry. Shoes loosely placed in the drum of a drying device, however, generate undesirable noise and shoe abrasion when they collide against the walls of the drum when the drum rotates. Devices that hold shoes in place relative to the walls of the drum to help eliminate such noise, however, do not dry the shoes as evenly and thoroughly as is typically desirable. This is usually because the heat, such as the heat in the air stream in the drum, is delivered mostly to the exterior of the shoes. A comparatively minor amount of the heat and air stream, if any, is delivered to the interior of the shoes such as the toe area inside the shoes.
To overcome such problems, shoes are usually removed from the drying device before their interior is fully dry. This is usually not desirable because the shoes are not completely dry when they are removed from the drying device. In other instances, shoes are dried further after their exterior dries until their interior is also dry, but this process wastes energy and can damage the shoes by continuing to apply heat to the already dry exterior of the shoes. Therefore, it is desirable to have footwear drying apparatus that facilitates more even drying of the exterior and the interior of footwear in a drying device.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.
In one aspect of the present invention, a drying apparatus is disclosed for use in a drying device. The drying apparatus includes a platform with one or more mechanisms, such as tubes, operable to at least partially hold an article to be dried, such as an article of footwear, with respect to the platform. The platform is connected to a second mechanism, such as a screen plug, which cooperatively engages with an air exit in the drying device, such as a lint screen slot. During a drying operation, an article for drying, such as footwear, can be placed on the platform with at least a portion of the first mechanism associated with the article, and the second mechanism can be cooperatively engaged with the air exit. An airflow channel is formed between an interior of the drying device, a portion of the article, the first mechanism, the second mechanism, and the air exit, resulting in more even drying of the article.
In another embodiment, the platform includes a cover, whereby an article placed on the platform is enclosed thereby. In this embodiment, an airflow channel is formed between an interior of the drying device, the first mechanism, a portion of the article, the inside of the enclosure formed by the cover and the platform, the second mechanism, and the air exit, resulting in more even drying of the article.
In another embodiment, a drying apparatus includes a duct unit having an at least partially hollow interior and an air outlet arm operatively connected to the duct unit. The air outlet arm has an at least partially hollow interior, which is in air communication with the at least partially hollow interior of the duct unit and with an opening in the air outlet arm. The duct unit also includes at least one mount having an at least partially hollow interior. The mount is operable to hold an article for drying, such as an article of footwear, with respect to the duct unit. The drying apparatus may also include a frame attached to the duct unit to hold the apparatus in place inside the drying device. When thus placed in the drying device, the opening in the air outlet arm at least partially overlaps with the air exit in the drying device. An airflow channel is formed between an interior portion of the drying device, at least a portion of the article held in the mount, such as the interior of an article of footwear, the at least partially hollow interior of the mount, the at least partially hollow interior of the duct unit, the at least partially hollow interior of the air outlet arm, the opening in the air outlet arm, and the air exit, thereby resulting in more even drying of the article, such as more even drying of the exterior and the interior of a shoe, during a typical drying operation.